F1 Las Vegas: Annual Glittery Spectacle Or Clark County’s Four-Month Headache? It’s Both; F1 Fans, Politicians Love Race, Many Locals Despise It
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The 50-lap street race along the Strip ended Saturday night.
But the sports event work for the Las Vegas Grand Prix still goes on.
F1-hired work crews moved into race track dismantling mode Sunday and roads like Koval Lane at Harmon Avenue just east of the Strip were still closed. Take a look.
For the thousands of Formula One race fans and hotel-casinos on the 3.8-mile race course, the Las Vegas Grand Prix was a spine-tingling spectacle that brought extra cash to these hotels during a weekend that is traditionally slow before Thanksgiving. The race was broadcast by ESPN at 8 PM and places like the Bellagio (the fountains) and Wynn (signage along the track) drew free publicity.
Local Las Vegas TV stations had reporters on the F1 scene breathlessly promoting the sports event in their reports. None mentioned that many Clark County residents who have to work on the Strip opposed and were aggravated by the sports event.
What was the F1 event’s net economic gain to Las Vegas? Nobody knows. An F1 consultant will likely offer a very large economic spending number, but nobody knows all the business losses caused by so many people avoiding the Strip corridor because of the F1 event.
For Clark County residents who work in the Strip corridor, normal 20-minute commutes stretched to 45-60 minutes because of mounting traffic caused by closed roads and lanes related to the track installment that began in early September. The dismantling will last until Christmas. Yes, that’s nearly four months of race-related disruptions — a full third of the year.
Las Vegas is one of three F1 races in the U.S. But it’s the only one of the three that was superimposed into the heart of local economic artery. The Miami and Austin, Texas races are far from city centers, but the Las Vegas Grand Prix track route was placed on the Strip and surrounding streets to create a 3.8-mile loop that adds up to 192.59 miles with cars zipping along at 200 mph.
It’s now in its third year. After an inaugural race that was a PR mess because of traffic jams and local businesses losing money in 2023, Las Vegas Grand Prix officials handed out free tickets to teachers, invited the Girl Scouts to sell cookies at the event and lowered ticket prices in hopes of drawing locals to the race in 2025.
Many attendees enjoyed the lavish glamor of the F1 event, which was a magnet for celebrities like Ben Affleck, Naomi Campbell, Jay-Z and Beyonce.
Most people in Las Vegas can agree the F1 race was a spectacle.
But at what cost?
It is remarkable that so many locals do oppose holding the race on the Strip, yet the Clark County commissioners went along with the F1 plans.
Get used to the spectacle and the aggravation.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is here to stay.
PSA
